Vical (VICL) Lifted to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Vical (NASDAQ:VICL) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

According to Zacks, “Vical researches and develops biopharmaceutical products based on its patented DNA delivery technologies for the prevention and treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases. Potential applications of the company’s DNA delivery technology include DNA vaccines for infectious diseases or cancer, in which the expressed protein is an immunogen; cancer immunotherapeutics, in which the expressed protein is an immune system stimulant; and cardiovascular therapies, in which the expressed protein is an angiogenic growth factor. The company is developing certain infectious disease vaccines and cancer therapeutics internally. In addition, the company collaborates with major pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies that give it access to complementary technologies or greater resources. These strategic partnerships provide the company with mutually beneficial opportunities to expand its product pipeline and address significant unmet medical needs. “

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Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of Vical in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. ValuEngine lowered Vical from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Ifs Securities restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vical in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.50.

Shares of Vical (NASDAQ VICL) opened at $1.80 on Friday. Vical has a fifty-two week low of $1.66 and a fifty-two week high of $3.70.

Vical (NASDAQ:VICL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.60 million. Vical had a negative return on equity of 29.06% and a negative net margin of 92.13%. sell-side analysts predict that Vical will post -1 EPS for the current year.

In other news, Director Robert C. Merton bought 85,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.75 per share, for a total transaction of $149,975.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 95,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,039.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.98% of the company’s stock.

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Vical stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ:VICL) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 416,029 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 23,520 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Vical were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors own 15.44% of the company’s stock.

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